K-State Research and Extension

When preserving food, there are certain steps to take to be sure the food is safe after preserving. One of those steps is peeling produce. Why? Bottom line is food safety.

While the outside peels of many types of produce are nutritionally beneficial, those peels can hold onto microorganisms and dirt. Rinsing produce with water before peeling is the first step to remove microorganisms and dirt. Peeling physically removes that outer layer and drastically reduces contamination. After a final rinse with water, the food is ready to preserve.

Therefore, when a recipe says to peel the produce, it must be done. That recipe was developed and researched with that step included. Choosing to skip the peeling step can result in improperly processed food and spoilage.

Don’t let those peels go to waste! Save them to make a vegetable stock to freeze and use in soups and other recipes. Add them to your garden compost pile or feed your animals.

Source: National Center for Home Food Preservation

While a vegetable peeler or paring knife is useful to peel produce, for some foods there is an easier method.

For tomatoes, blanching them in hot water works well and less flesh is lost. Heat a large stockpot of water to boiling. Core tomatoes or poke the skin with a knife and place in the hot water for about 60 seconds or until the peel starts to pull away from the flesh. Remove them from the hot water and plunge them into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Gently rub the peel and it should slip off easily.

This method works well for fruits with thin skins such as peaches and nectarines.

Peeling produce is an important step to preserve food safely in  all methods of food preservation.

While fat or oil can enhance flavor and texture in many recipes, when it comes to canning, fat and oil can lead to food safety problems. There are very few recommendations to use fat or oil in home food preservation.

Research shows that fats and oils can surround bacterial spores, if present, and protect them from heat destruction. This allows them to survive in the jar of food.

In canning meat it is best to use the leanest meat possible. Fat can boil up during canning and interfere with the sealing compound of the lid. Use the proper amount of headspace for best results.

Do not add oil to home canned tomato sauces, salsa or marinated vegetables. Making flavored oils that contain herbs, garlic, peppers, etc. can provide favorable conditions for Clostridium botulinum to survive when stored at room temperature. Store these in the refrigerator.

Besides canning meat, poultry and fish, there are very few researched canning recipes that use oil. Learn more at www.rrc.k-state.edu/preservation/index.html.

Source: https://extension.psu.edu/caution-canning-with-fats-and-oils